Recently I did a program for parents on the importance of reading aloud. In that presentation, I stressed that reading-aloud ranks right up there with loving, feeding, and clothing their children. When my children were little, the best time of the day for me was at night when I sat in bed with them reading wonderful books. Now I look forward to doing that with my grandsons.

I know that I am a writer because I love to read. (I don't think a person can be a writer unless they are a reader.) And how did I become such a book-lover? I was lucky enough to have been read aloud to when I was a young child.

On the vital and far-reaching importance of reading aloud, children's author Mem Fox says, "If parents understood the huge educational benefit and intense happiness brought about by reading aloud to their children, and if every parent--and every adult caring for a child--read aloud a minimum of three stories a day (20 minutes) to the children in their lives, we could probably wipe out illiteracy within one generation." That's a bold statement, but I believe it's true. And wouldn't that change the world for the better! So, spread the word . . . Read-aloud!